Thank goodness Councilman James Gennaro of Queens ran unopposed in the last election, or a very real and important issue affecting the lives of every New Yorker would continue to go unaddressed.

We're not talking about huge budget deficits, mass transit issues, or even overdevelopment. Think: what is the one thing that is missing in your everyday life? An official city apple, of course!

Yes, amid the very important business before the City Council at their stated meeting Monday afternoon, which included a vote on the rezoning of the Broadway Triangle in Williamsburg and a law to make stores replace their metal roll-down gates with transparent replacements, was a resolution calling on New York to name the Newtown Pippin the official city apple.

What is a Newtown Pippin exactly, you ask? The Newtown Pippin was an apple first grown in Newtown, NY, (now Elmhurst, Queens) in the early 1700s. George Washington scarfed them down like an anorexic at an all-you-can-eat buffet, and the Newtown Pippin was the absolute fave apple of Thomas Jefferson, although as far as we know the Constitutional Convention didn't include a resolution singing the fruit's praises.

And if that's not good enough for you, then how about the fact that Dave Matthews – yes, Dave Matthews of The Dave Matthews Band! - planted some Newtown Pippins at his house, apple trees that in turn inspired the songs “Ants Marching,” “One Sweet World,” and “The Dreaming Tree.” According to legend, it was chewing on a sour Newtown Pippin that gave Dave Matthews his distinctive, donkey-like vocal styling.

However, this is very serious business indeed, and we are glad that one of our elected officials decided to finally address the matter of our glorious city – The Big Apple, hello?! - lacking an official apple. Now, when people ask what kind of apple The Big Apple is, you won't have to say a crime-infested, graffiti-covered, crowded mess. No, instead you can say a Newtown Pippin.

It's not exactly the the toughest-sounding apple is it? Sounds more like a ten-year-old ragamuffin in a Dickens novel. Granted, not as wimpy as the Granny Smith, but not as emotive as Red Delicious or as exotic as Fuji.

But, darn it, it's our apple, and if it was good enough for the Founding Fathers and Dave Matthews of The Dave Matthews Band, it's good enough for us here at Pol Position. Apparently, you can still buy Newtown Pippins at the city's greenmarkets, and we plan on making it a top priority of ours to track some down, post haste.